1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shower for a paper making machine, and more particularly, to a shower for conditioning a press felt or dryer fabric on a paper making machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Showers are well known in paper machines for cleaning the press felt in the wet end of the machine or for cleaning the fabric in the dryer section. These showers typically include an elongated pipe extending laterally across the width of the machine, and a series of nozzles direct a plurality of jets of water or water and air at the surface of the fabric or felt for dislodging and removing dirt from the felt or fabric. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,507,608, issued Sep. 9, 1924 to H. Kidd, a shower or spray pipe is illustrated having a series of spaced-apart nozzles for spraying water onto the felt or meshed surface of a drum, and the pipe is oscillated so that the nozzles go back and forth to cover the entire width of the felt being conditioned.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,976, issued Oct. 18, 1966 to C. E. Eagle et al, accomplishes a similar effect by mounting a plurality of stationary pipes with the nozzles staggered, so that the complete width of the felt or fabric is covered by the nozzles. Solenoid valves are provided at the end of each pipe, and a timer connected to the solenoid valves controls the feed of cleaning solution from a header to each pipe in order to provide intermittent spraying but full width coverage.
The recovery of used water or cleaning solutions carrying the particles washed away from the felt or fabric create a further problem in that the water should be recirculated in order to reduce pollution, and thus the recycling of such water poses an expense directly proportional to the volume of water to be treated.